Facing Fears
by NeroMustDie15
Summary: Ichigo is found in Las Noches after his battle with Ulquiorra by Halibel. Intrigued by the strange arrancar he demands to know more about her. However, she refuses unless he shows her his Vasto Lorde form. A form Ichigo is terrified of. Will he be able to face his fear? Read and Review! Halibel/Ichigo!


**A/N: Fair warning, this may be long (4500 words). At least by my standards. In any case, please enjoy! Another warning; I'm not consistent in my writing so please don't complain and enjoy the story for what it is!**

**NOTE: I love the fact that this story has gotten almost 400 views even though it hasn't even been two days. But PLEASE, please, please review. I want to know what you guys think!**

Facing Fears

Ichigo cracked his eyes open slowly and quickly shut them from the bright light. Or at least what he thought was bright light, he couldn't really tell. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, if he inhaled anymore air than what he needed his body voiced it's protest. Of course it was already voicing it's protest as it was, what with his stomach churning like the sea in the middle of a storm, his body feeling like it had been chewed up and spit out, and his throat burning every time he took a breath. On top of all this, it was hot, so hot that droplets of sweat raced down his forehead freely. The blanket sitting on top of him didn't help, he tried to take it off but as soon as his body felt the cold air he decided against it. Ichigo groaned in submission to his current miserable state.

"So your awake." said a feminine voice, he hadn't recognized. The woman in question padded over to him, and put a hand to his forehead. Noticing the shivers rack through the boy's body she sighed. "I think I may have used too much" Letting the matter go, she noticed her captive had fallen back into unconsciousness. She absentmindedly traced a finger from his chest down to his abs through the v-shaped cut in his shihakusho. (I think that's what it's called) Admiring his physical form she said, "For a human you are in remarkably good shape." The mystery woman went back to her chair to wait for him to wake up again. She didn't have to wait long, however, because he soon showed signs of movement.

For the second time in he didn't know how long, Ichigo opened his eyes again and this time his eyes adjusted to the environment. He darted his eyes around the room hesitantly. From what Ichigo could tell he was in a dimly lit room, with dark black-green walls with one window. Straining his eyes, he looked out the window to see he was still in Hueco Mundo, it's sandy dunes and piercing moon clearly visible. As if acting as a trigger, Ichigo suddenly remembered his fight with Ulquiorra. And then he vaguely remembered Orihime's terrified face as he turned into that...monster. "Bastard" he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that asshole!" His inner hollow said inside his head.

And then another fact clicked in his head that caused a wave of panic to course through his body. If he was here, where was Orihime? This startling revelation made him throw the blanket onto the floor and try to sit up. That was when he noticed his captor. Instantly he recognized her. 'She's the number three Espada! She's the one I sensed when I was fighting Grimmjow.' he thought. Ichigo froze. Ulquiorra was challenge enough, but he didn't stand a chance against her.

"I wouldn't move if I were you. The sedative hasn't quite worn off yet." The woman said, who had watched his spectacle with apparent disinterest. Her piercing green seemed to see through his entire soul.

"What sedative where's Orihime!?" Ichigo half-yelled.

"The sedative I gave you to dilute your spiritual pressure. It was sky high when I found you after you killed Ulquiorra, I couldn't have you going around destroying Hueco Mundo. This is my home you know. And your friend is safe, my Fraccion are taking care of her at the moment." Her voice suddenly turned to ice as drew her sword and said, "I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you, you beat Ulquiorra due to pure luck. If you try that with me I assure you, you'll die."

Then she put her sword to his throat and traced from his throat downwards, stopping at the waistband of his pants, using her sword she moved the waistband of his pants down just slightly. Watching his face turn the brightest shade of red, she smirked behind her mask. 'How cute. Underneath all that bravado and that body, he's just a shy teenager.'

"I'd lay back down if I were you. I don't think that sedative will wear off for a while." said the woman.

Ichigo settled for sitting, considering that he was feeling much better than ten minutes ago. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was good to know that Orihime was safe, even if she was in the hands of the enemy. Then again, he pondered the word 'enemy' surely if this woman was his enemy, she would've killed him already. Confused, he formed a question. "Why did you save me? And what's your name?"

The blonde espada sighed, she knew this question was coming. She rubbed her eyes with two tan, slender fingers and looked at her captive shinigami. The look on his face wasn't forceful in any means of the word, but it also didn't look as if he would just drop the matter either. The curiosity in his fierce golden brown eyes were staring into her soul, seeking out every nook and cranny, and the secrets within them. She shook her head and said, "Let's just say that I don't agree with some of Aizen's ways. My name... is Tia Halibel, you may call me Tia."

Ichigo brightened up at learning her name and also that she and Aizen weren't exactly on good terms. That meant she could possibly be an ally against Aizen in the future. The strawberry-blonde's face turned into his signature scowl as he said, "You know to _him_ your expendable right?" She gave a brief and almost sorrowful nod. Ichigo sighed and said, "My name is Ichigo, but I guess you already knew that." He said, scratching the back of his head nervously, once again returning to his teenage, shy self.

Suddenly a thought came to the tercera espada's head. 'Doesn't that mean strawberry?' She was glad her cheeks were naturally tan, otherwise he would've seen her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink Tia never really criticized anyone of the opposite sex, but she had to admit, Ichigo was down right adorable. A second later she became aware of a fidgeting shinigami who broke the silence by saying,

"Um... Sorry but do you mind? Your staring." Her response, had he would've seen, was the slightest hint of a smile under the collar of her white garment.

"Sorry" She mumbled. "Anyways, the sedative I gave you lowers your reiatsu to pathetic levels, but with some nasty side-effects. Side-effects which you are experiencing right now. It was originally a prototype by the number eight espada, but I didn't want to take any chances so I gave it to you anyways." Tia said. She swept a lock of bright blonde hair out of her eyes before saying, "My apologies, since you are stronger than most I figured I'd have to use more, but I didn't know how strong it was, and..." she trailed off.

"It's alright, at least I'm not dead. I figure being drugged up is better than being dead." the orange-haired shinigami said. He looked at the gorgeous woman across from him, but apparently grew annoyed because he could only see half of her face. In a brazen move that probably would have got him killed otherwise, he walked up to her and unzipped the white garment covering up her face. She looked back at him stunned and almost afraid. Quickly she made a move to zip it back up, but a gentle hand stopped her. "You don't have to hide it." he said.

Her hand fell at her side uselessly.

The orange-haired shinigami in another daring move, traced along the ivory teeth of her mask, he started to go lower, but stopped and muttered a quick 'sorry'. "So does this mask come off? I mean, mine does, but..." He trailed off, and then he realized what he had said and his eyes widened as he put a hand over his mouth. Her response wasn't surprised by any means of the word. Suddenly remembering that she'd been there during his fight with Grimmjow, he regained his composure. "You saw it didn't you?"

Tia gave a brief nod and said, "To answer your question, my mask does indeed come off, it's really quite simple actually. I just condense my mask into reishi particles and it comes off. If I needed it again all I'd have to do is condense reishi around my face. Although I don't like taking it off... It makes me feel..." Seemingly getting frustrated with herself she added, "Why am I even telling you this! Your just a lowly shinigami!"

"Take it off."

The tercera espada quickly shook her head.

"Please, I want to see you without it."

She shook her head again, but there it was. That unwavering stubbornness that wouldn't be shaken. Perhaps that was the key to all his victories. The unwillingness to just lay down and die. In any case, Tia would do it, although she had a very special condition. One that she'd been itching to have fulfilled since she'd found Ichigo in the dunes of Las Noches. "Show me your Resurrection. In case your too dense to know what I'm talking about, I mean what you used to kill Ulquiorra."

In an almost instantaneous reaction, his eyes widened, his face lost all of its gentle shade of pink. He seemed to shrink as if turning into a small child. With a very potent measure of fear in his voice he said, "No way! I'll never turn into that monster again! Even if I wanted to, I'm not even sure how to do it! You can kill me if you want, but never again!" That form had been a scarring experience to the young substitute shinigami. He had never thought such a monster existed inside of him. Ichigo never wanted to relive that form again.

Seeing his horrified reaction, Tia shook her head. She felt sorry for him. Which is a lot considering she'd never felt anything for anyone. That one revelation caused her to wrinkle her eyebrows in annoyance. This shinigami had been awake for the better half of twenty-minutes and he was already awakening feelings she didn't know she had. It was annoying and yet Tia found she didn't mind opening up to this man. Steeling her resolve for what she was about to say, she took a deep breath. "Look, if you show me your Resurrection I'll tell you anything you want to know about me."

The orange-haired teen closed his eyes and put a finger to his chin, apparently thinking about this proposal. Taking a huge sigh himself, he opened his eyes and stood up. Focusing his brown eyes on her he said, "Just promise me one thing." She nodded quickly. "Don't die." He said with a tone of finality. "Oh, and I have another question."

"What is it?"

"Where are we going to go?"

"Just don't freak out." She said knowing what was going to happen. The blonde arrancar snapped her fingers.

"Don't freak out wha-" Ichigo was suddenly cut off as the floor disappeared below him. Not knowing what else to do Ichigo screamed like a little girl. Falling for what seemed like forever, the ground finally appeared, making it's fast approach. Too fast. Ichigo couldn't correct his fall so he landed on his face, legs contorted in a weird curved motion. Digging his face out of the ground, he spit out a mouth full of sand. "A little bit of a warning would've been nice. I'm gonna have migraines for weeks after this..." he grumbled.

Tia chuckled a little at that comment. "It's not like it ruined your face, it's still as good looking-" She stopped mid sentence and cleared her throat, leaving Ichigo confused. Quickly changing the subject she regained her composure and at the same time she mentally smacked herself for almost blurbing her attraction to him. "This is the underground training area beneath my resting quarters. The higher in the rankings of the Espada, the deeper the pit becomes. Most of it is because when training we do not want to cause Hueco Mundo any structural damage."

"That's why the Epada level four or lower can't release." Ichigo said. In response, he got a mildly confused stare. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ulquiorra said something about it during our fight."

Tia shook her head and said, "In any case, you are correct. If we level four or lower Espada released without a care, we would most likely cause Hueco Mundo irreparable damage. Though whoever designed this place was very clever, because given enough time no matter how severe the damage Hueco Mundo can repair itself."

With a sense of child-like wonder Ichigo scratched his head and said, "I wonder who designed this place then?"

"I do not know, but anyways our attacks are so powerful that they actually destroy the reishi particles this place is made out of. The place you and Ulquiorra fought is exactly as it was left, and it will be like that forever. Now, I've been waiting for a long time just to see the extent of your power, so if seeing me without my mask is so important to you, you'll give me all you've got!"

Ichigo smirked. Although the fear of his transformation wasn't gone, but he had confidence that the blonde tercera espada knew what she was doing. With his fear suppressed for the moment, he bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and swept his hand across his face in a clawing motion. His black, red-tinged reiatsu coagulated onto his face and formed a mask. He drew Zangetsu and placed it out in front of him in a battle-ready stance. The shinigami dashed forward and clashed swords with Halibel for the first time, and then his mask shattered. Eyes widened, he said, "What the...?"

Tia seemed surprised as well. In her observation of his fight against Grimmjow, she'd never seen his mask shatter completely. Even when he was in his most worn state. "What happened?" She said, partially hoping he would know the answer. Unfortunately for her that wasn't the case.

"I...I don't know. That's never happened before." Suddenly Ichigo's skin began letting off white smoke. And then a maniacal laughter sounded throughout the entire room. Instantly the substitute shinigami knew exactly who it belonged too. "No! I already beat you, you son of a bitch!" About a millisecond before he finished his sentence, a white arm reached out of his chest.

Utterly terrified, Tia brought a hand up to her mouth. She'd never seen anything like it. Not knowing what else it could be, she guessed it was his hollow. But a shinigami should not have any sort of relationship with its hollow. Coming to the most logical conclusion she could, she also guessed that a contract of sorts had been made between Ichigo and his hollow. And this either meant that the contract was up or that Ichigo was losing control of his hollow. She stood horrified as a voice suddenly sounded, coming from neither Ichigo nor her.

An even bigger hole was ripped into the orange-haired shinigami's chest as the voice said, "Ahhh... fresh air. It's really claustrophobic in there kingy." Once the voice finished it jumped out of the hole in Ichigo's chest and solidified into a humanoid form. It sported everything Ichigo had on at the moment, except its shihakusho was white with a black trim, resembling an Espada's garb. It's skin was also a pale white, with the trademark black and yellow eyes of a hollow. "Whatsa matter kingy? You look like you seen a ghost!" Another laugh ripped from the hollows throat.

"What are you doing here!? I kicked your ass already!" Ichigo said. The hole in his chest had closed up completely, as if it had never even been there.

"Oh? I'm sorry kingy I forgot, your a little retarded. Remember when you died while fighting that emo douchebag? Well, turns out since I had to save your ass, that means at the moment I have more control over your inner world than you do! So in order to get it back you've gotta beat me again! But you can't. Cuz I can do this!" A big plume of smoke rose up and when the smoke cleared, there stood Ogichi in Ichigo's Vasto Lorde form. "Scared shitless yet Ichigo?" Yet another laugh came from the hollow, except this time in a deeper more monstrous tone.

Trying to keep his composure, he stood up straight and said, "Fine, I won't hold my breath." Thankfully he somehow managed to sound believable. In a flash of black-red light Ichigo stood with his bankai, the customary tattered shihakusho blew in the wind behind him. He allowed a slight smirk to grace his lips as he said, "Shall we dance?" (Can any devout Bleach fan name where this is from?)

Tia stood by more than a little impressed. Being able to use a Bankai without saying an incantation or even the word "Bankai" was commendable indeed. Not only did it show how much he knew his sword, it also showed his intelligence in battle. Having to chant an incantation or say "Bankai" in battle wasted time, and against a powerful opponent like this, it could prove to be deadly. Her amazement didn't last too long however.

Suddenly Ogichi appeared right in front of the unsuspecting shinigami and grabbed him by fistfuls of his shihakusho, pulling him up to his devilish face. "Don't get cocky on me, Ichigo. Remember, if you lose I get control of your body FOREVER!" Seeing Ichigo's horrified expression the hollow curved his bony cheeks upward into what would be called a smile, narrowing his yellow eyes to slits in the process. Then, opening his maw up widely, a little red ball began to charge in the middle of it, expanding until it covered the entire opening of the hollows mouth.

Tia knew what it was and surely Ichigo did too, but why wasn't he moving...? She knew she was going to regret this in the end, but she couldn't just let the shinigami die. In a fraction of a second, she cut off Ogichi's arms and grabbed Ichigo by the collar of his black uniform when, the hollow grabbed her by her braids in her hair.

'Instant regeneration!?' the tercera espada thought.

"Don't interfere, _bitch_. I'll save you for after I'm done with this pathetic piece of shit." The Vasto Lorde said as if he was spitting acid. With a hefty throw he tossed her aside, looking to get back to Ichigo...

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" The shinigami shouted. The black and red-tinged wave of pure destruction, made its way quickly toward Ogichi.

The hollow lazily turned to the attack. He smirked and swatted it away with a flick of the wrist. "Come on, Ichigo your going to have to do better than that!"

No less than a second after he said that Ichigo used shunpo and attempted to cut Ogichi in half at the waist. Unfortunately, the hollow was expecting this, and faster than Ichigo could register, he blocked the slash with two fingers. In a defensive reflex the orange-haired shinigami jumped back about twenty feet, hoping to get some breathing room.

"I'd watch where I was going if I were you." the hollow said right behind the unsuspecting teen, before grabbing Ichigo by his shinigami robes and throwing him a great distance. Following up with this attack, he kicked the still-in-air Ichigo into a cylindrical building half a mile away. Adding insult to injury, he charged a bright red cero and fired it into the rubble where Ichigo had landed.

The shinigami was still trying to get rid of the birds flying around in his vision and the violent pulsing of every muscle in his body when he noticed the cero. Once again, he used shunpo to avoid the beam of energy. Ichigo found himself glad his bankai was speed based. 'If I don't think of a way to slow him down, I won't have a chance!' Suddenly he got an idea. It wasn't much and had a high probability of failing, but he had to try something.

"Come on out Ichigo! I know your made of tougher shit than that!"

Granting his request the orange-haired teenager dashed straight toward Ogichi, getting as close as he could get before making a turn and circling the hollow. Using his speed he began moving at high speeds left and right in a circle around Ogichi. He was moving so fast that clones of himself were starting to appear. Then they all began pointing their fingers at the white-skinned monster and chanting, "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Rikujokoro!"

The hollow began its maniacal laugh once again and said, "You think this foolish kido can hold me?" Ogichi suddenly flexed his arms and the rods broke as if they were made of brittle glass. Before he could capitalize on a possible opening, Ichigo appeared right in front of him and yelled,

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

And then before his senses even registered the need to block the first Getsuga. Ichigo was behind him yelling yet another "GETSUGA TENSHOU!" Ogichi's yellow slits widened considerably, realizing that he was pinned between the two dark waves with no way out. An explosion of dust covered all three figures from sight as the attack shook the foundation of Las Noches.

Ichigo hoped he had taken his hollow out. That attack shouldn't have taken so much out of him, but the reiatsu limiting drug was still under effect. The shinigami huffed, hoping to only see dust in the hollow's place. He was dismayed to find that Ogichi stood there with a few scuffs and bruises but no real wounds.

"I'll give it to you, Ichigo. That was some trick you pulled there, but much too weak to even cut me open." Ogichi made a come hither motion with his finger. "I think its time I showed you how to use a sword!" A black sword similar to his own shot out of the ground and into Ogichi's hand. The only difference was that there was a vertically facing swastika flange on the side. Without warning the white-demon surged forward, leaving Ichigo with barely enough time to bring his sword up to block the attack

When sword came in contact with sword, a loud metallic crash was heard throughout the pit. Followed by a gust of air. Then Ogichi released a fury of slashes, each one leaving a crash in its wake. First, one aiming to cut Ichigo right down the middle, then one to cut him in half at the waist, then one diagonally down the shinigami's shoulder blade. All of them were barely blocked by a worn Ichigo.

'How can his attacks be so powerful! It feels like every time his blade clashes with mine, my reiatsu is getting sucked away bit by bit.' Ichigo thought as he barely stepped back to avoid a cut across his stomach, tearing his shihakusho in the process. The hollow proceeded to taunt him by saying,

"Your getting sluggish Ichigo! This is a fight to the death! WEAKLINGS LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO DRAW BREATH!" Ogichi said aiming a kick at Ichigo's side which the shinigami blocked, but it sent him back into one of the red columned buildings of Las Noches. He landed on his feet on the column to meet his hollow counterpart in a head on collision.

'I've gotta get some distance between us! Otherwise he's gonna wear me down and it'll be that much more easier for him to take control.' Ichigo though. Glad for his battle ingenuity, Ichigo got yet another idea. Then next time he clashed swords he said "Getsuga!" And his blade glowed his crimson reiatsu, an unreleased wave of energy on the blade. Surprisingly his scare-tactic had worked and Ogichi had backed off thinking that Ichigo would fire a Getsuga at point-blank range. Then, Ichigo turned tail and ran up the red columned building as fast as he could to get away from the hollow. Still, his hollow caught up, running along side him and clashing swords with the strawberry-blonde every few steps.

Then the hollow disappeared. Only to show up at the top of the cylindrical building that Ichigo was running up. Delivering a powerful kick to the temple, the teenager was sent through the red building and somersaulting into the ground.

Tia watched the fight with horrified eyes. Ichigo was going to die if she didn't do anything. Within less than a second she had made her decision. She drew her sword from its sheath and said, "Tiburon"

Ichigo opened his eyes slowly. His head was pounding, like it was being sat on by Soifon's lieutenant Omaeda (Sorry couldn't resist). The world around him was spinning and it wouldn't stop. Then he was suddenly grabbed by the sides of his shinigami outfit and face to face with an all too happy Ogichi. Then behind him was a released Tia who hadn't made her presence known. He mentally smiled.

"I'm gonna enjoy killing you. I'll stick my blade into your stomach nice and slow just so I can hear you scream." Then he was suddenly dropped on the rough ground with a thump. Slowly he reached for his zanpakto, until his hand was stepped on by the white hollow above him.

"What are you gonna do with that? You don't even have the power to use it!"

By some luck Ichigo got his hands on Tensa Zangetsu, turned it toward the hollow, and then two phrases were heard that spelled his hollow half's doom.

"Getsuga Tenshou"

"Trident."

Using her Sonido, Tia narrowly saved them from a blast that would've killed them as well. Returning to her quarters she snapped her fingers to cover up the passage to the pit. She laid Ichigo down on the bed, and was surprised when she fell over next to him and couldn't find the strength to move. Unexpectedly he turned over and asked,

"Are you okay?"

Tia was totally and utterly shocked. This man within the last two hours had been through hell, and he was asking _her_ if she was okay? Quickly she said yes, and finding a courage she didn't know she possessed, she grabbed him by his shihakusho and pulled him into an intense kiss.

**End.**

**So what did you think? And yes I DO know that some things in the battle were VERY unrealistic, but I had to get this out there. And I probably did HORRIBLE on the characters but oh well.**

**Sorry I haven't updated in almost two months. Lots of stuff has been happening since then. Well, I'm still here and it's Spring Break so I'll try to upload some more, but no guarantees.**

**Thanks for reading and review please!**

**-NMD15**


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